Chat Customization — Make Every Chat Room Unique!

As far as online chats and chat customization go, we are all familiar with the premise. We open a window, type what we want to say, and then we wait for a reply from the other end. Chats are similar in their goal, to communicate with each other, but have a different feel. They’re used in social media, in customer support, and pretty much anywhere else. Be it education, sports, or even stock trading, online chats are everywhere these days.

Do you think that all of that caters to each platform? Well, the answer is no. That’s why RumbleTalk offers its users the ability to customize their chat.

When you think of design, you always think of skins and themes, right? But for RumbleTalk, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You can do more than just that. From backgrounds to changing fonts and colors, you can design your chat dedicated to your expertise.

Design your chat

You can customize the appearance of your chat room anytime. There are no restrictions when it comes to changing your design, so choose the one that suits your chat room best!

We’ve made it like that so you can customize the RumbleTalk group chat to fit your brand and site. In addition, you can also customize the look of both web and mobile versions.

We offer a quick editor for easy point-and-click customization of the web group chat in the “Design” tab of the new admin panel.

If you want to change the background of your chat, you can do so. Fonts and font sizes are also customizable. With the customization offers of the RumbleTalk group chat, you’ll never get bored of the same design.

With CSS, RumbleTalk group chats can also be fully customized in both web and mobile versions. CSS lets you change any aspect of the chat appearance. Web and mobile CSS changes are done separately, allowing another layer of custom design. We also shared some tips and tricks for web and mobile CSS so you can use it on your group chat.

chat customization

Chat Customization Options

More than just the visual aspects of a chat, RumbleTalk also offers customization for the following:

  • How much of a history of your chat saves,
  • Banning and limiting users,
  • Sending system messages,
  • Setting up admins,
  • And more! While we have most of them covered, we’re always listening to our customers’ feedback and suggestions!

Exporting your chat history

Who can export the chat history? This depends on you as the chat owner. By default, anyone can export the chat history. However, the chat owner can turn off the export button.

Another chat customization hack is the chat owner can select a date range, and then export the group chat history by using the export archive option.

Limiting users

Why limit users?

  • It can be very hectic and busy when there are too many chatters in one chat room. So, you cannot control everyone who goes in and out.
  • This may lead to some unfortunate happenings like bullying or harassment in the chat.

To avoid this, you can limit your users per chat room.

To do this, you need to click “Settings” on your admin panel. Next, click “Users.”

Click on “Add new user” and choose a role. Make sure to choose “Rooms” so that the user will only be allowed in a specific chat room.

That’s it for limiting users!

Banning users

To ban a user, you can do the following.

First, you need to log-in as an admin. Click the profile of the user you wish to ban. You will be presented two levels of banning.

  • Disconnect – The user will be disconnected to the chat, but he/she can immediately go back and log-in again. This is only a temporary ban, more like a warning or a suspension.
  • Ban by IP – A permanent ban. If a user is banned by IP address, whenever he/she logs in with any credentials, as long as it’s from the same IP address, he/she will not be able to enter the chat. This is great for bullies or harassers that can’t understand the rules of the chat.
chat customization

You can remove users from the Ban IP list by going to your admin panel, to the banned IP list and remove the IP.

When does it make sense to ban a user? As aforementioned, this can serve as a warning if it is a one-time affair. But, if a user prevails and uses the same foul language or bad behavior in the chat, then it’s probably best to just let go of this user instead of endangering the other members of the chat. This is what’s great about the chat customization features of RumbleTalk.

Sending System Messages

If you’re still not satisfied with the above features, there’s still more! RumbleTalk also allows you to customize the system message in your chat room. This means that people who enter your chat room will see this message when they enter your chat or even when you’re not around. A simple hello and when you’ll be back can be a big difference! The customization for system messages includes

  • An announcement for a virtual event,
  • A global update about something,
  • And a friendly hello!
offline message

System messages will be seen by everyone in the chat, so you’ll be sure that they are notified.

Setting up admins

Just like the previous option on banning and limiting users, setting up admins has the same procedure. By default, you’re the only admin of your chat. As time goes by, many users will become members. So, you will need help in terms of managing chatters. To set up admins, you have to do the following.

First, click on “Settings” and choose “Users.”

upload profile picture

Second, click “Add new user” and choose admin. Select what role they will be playing in the chat. It can be for rooms only or global access. This means that, if an admin only has room access, he/she can only access a specific chat room. On the other hand, when an admin has global access, he/she has access to each and every chat room.

Make sure that you’re handing access to someone you trust because he/she will be the one who will be managing the chat when you’re not around. An admin has to be responsible for everything that’s happening in the chat. May it be a positive or a negative scenario, he/she must act on it fast. Plus, you need to ensure the safety of every user in your chat; therefore, he/she must always report to you.

Web and Mobile CSS

By being the most customizable chat room available in the market, we also offer controlling your chat design by using chat CSS. If you’re a tech and design expert, CSS will be easy for you. We’ve made it even easier for CSS beginners by sharing some tips and tricks for both web and mobile CSS.

To copy and paste your CSS code, all you have to do is the following:

  1. Copy the chat CSS code from the aformentioned tips and tricks.
  2. Log-in to your RumbleTalk admin panel.
  3. In the chat settings, under “Design,” click on “Add CSS for Web Browsers”. The same goes for mobile, but choose “Add CSS for Mobile Browsers.”
  4. Paste your code and close the box.
chat customization
chat customization

Chat customization advantages

Using RESTful API, you can go more than just customizing your chat.
It lets you manage and design your chat rooms. Not only that, but it also lets you manage your admins and users. The API also allows you to monitor your audience, as well as keep a log of who’s attending and participating.

When it comes to moderating your individual chats, you also have the option to blacklist and whitelist IPs. You can order and regulate access by doing this. You can manage these lists even while the chat is live, which allows you to dynamically moderate at any time. With different access levels for different users (from user rooms to admin rooms), you’ve already got a complete package in your hands.

With RumbleTalk, every chat, every video, and every event is a unique experience. If you aren’t convinced yet, give it a try and see for yourself just how amazingly customizable nearly every aspect of RumbleTalk is! If you have any questions about customization, just connect with us on Twitter or Facebook. We’ll be glad to address your concerns.

Three Reasons to Embed a Chatroom on Your Radio Station Website

The internet has enabled us to talk and discuss the topics we are most passionate about. An entire community sprung up online to fawn over recent Netflix hit Black Mirror, and during the recent issue about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanagh, thousands of commenters, especially on Twitter, huddled over their keyboards and have become keyboard warriors to discuss and debate.

Nowadays, people really become keyboard warriors on topics about politics, religion, and their likes. It would be foolish then for radio station websites not to get in on the act. One of the features of RumbleTalk to address this is to embed a chatroom.

The relationship between a radio station and the listener has always traditionally been one-sided— one talks and plays music and the other listens. There are a number of reasons why this still shouldn’t be the case.

Engage Your Listeners with a Chatroom

If you embed a chatroom into your radio station website, then you can engage with your audience in a whole new way.

Imagine that you are a radio host. Your work is a juggling act, one in which you must pay close attention to the music, the switchboard, and the needs of your listeners. It’s not easy, but you’re doing well—the numbers show that there are plenty of listeners tuning in.

When you call out for song requests, however, very few people get involved. The same goes for callers; usually, there’s no response. What’s the problem?

It could be that your listeners are simply too busy with their lives to phone in. Or, maybe they don’t feel comfortable talking live on air. Whatever the reason is, a chatroom is a perfect panacea for these problems.

When you embed a chatroom, a listener can send a message or request instantly. No queues, no pressure, just instant communication. You can tweak the content of your radio show in turn, and you can immediately improve the show for your listeners, for more engagement either verbally or through your chatroom.

Live interactive chat

From there, it gets better. Before the generation of smartphones and the internet, listeners were restricted to texts and phone calls; now, they can use a range of media to get their point across. Instead of trying to tell the host a funny story, a listener could send a picture of it in the event that it happened. This could be enjoyed not just by the host but by the entire community, leading to more discussion. There’s nothing wrong with a caller explaining the current political debate, but why not embed a YouTube video, where you and the other listeners can watch?

If this sounds overwhelming, don’t worry. Quality chat rooms allow you to configure them to fit your needs, however, you want it to be.

A Responsive Tool

In the first quarter of 2018, it was found that, from 45%, 57% of online radio listeners are listening to podcasts once a week. This means that, throughout the years, radio station websites still continue to gain listeners. For many, especially the old generation, it is their primary means of hearing the news and learning about the latest issues, trends, and gossip. For a radio station, being on top of those issues is a great asset.

When you embed a chatroom into your radio station website, you can learn more from your listeners than their favorite song of the moment. You discover their pressing concerns, the stories that are burning in the hearts and minds of your audience. You can use this as a strategy to become an indispensable public service in the eyes (or rather, ears) of your listeners.

This is especially significant during a Q & A or a live debate or conference. By inviting the perspective of your audience, you can gain valuable insight into every facet of the issue. Maybe you and your team overlooked an aspect of a discussion that one listener deems crucial. A chatroom enables you to tailor the content and structure of proceedings in real time based on what your listeners want to hear. In doing so, you can build a relationship with your listeners, which brings us to our final point.

Embed a Chatroom and Generate Community

By embedding a chatroom into your radio station website, you lay the foundations for a community to grow.

A group of listeners who sends messages to the host will naturally begin sending messages to each other, creating a whole new community. These people would have previously listened alone. Now, they generate a powerful following for your radio station and its programming that both of you can enjoy. This feeling of camaraderie will have them come back for more the next time you air.   

This, being the internet, debates can sometimes turn ugly. As the administrator, you can communicate directly with any listeners who are being abusive or having a negative impact on the chat as a whole. If they continue to do so, you can suspend them or even remove them from the chat entirely. You will serve as the role model and the rule maker of your radio community.

Embedding Options

Embedding means getting a piece of code and adding it to your website (WordPress, HTML, etc).

RumbleTalk provides 2 types of embedded chatrooms.

  • A floating toolbar chatroom, which is an icon on the right or left.
    Floating toolbar embed chatroom
  • An embed option on a page, where you can copy and paste an embed code on your website.
    embed a chatroom in a page or full screen
  • In addition, you can always get the chat to be full screen using a link that is shared with your audience.

How Do You Embed a Chatroom?

In this section comes a guide of how you can embed a chatroom in your website. Follow these steps for easy embedding.

  1. In your new Rumbletalk dashboard, you will see the Embed option. Click on it.embed
  2. After clicking it, a setting for the Embed option will appear.embed settings
  3. There, you will see the  following settings on embedding a chatroom for your website:
  • Width and heightwidth and height
  • Floating chat optionfloating chat
  • Code for your chatroomembed code
  • Instructionsembedding instructions

It’s easy, right? Now, you can communicate more with your audience and vice versa.

Of course, you can’t have your eyes on the chat all the time; you have a radio show to run. Not a problem—you can appoint members of your team to act as moderators. They can keep an eye on the chat and ensure healthy discussion while you operate the studio. 

Those are just a few of the excellent reasons to embed a chatroom into your radio station website. It’s important to note that not all chat rooms are equal, and not all of the aforementioned features are available in all chatrooms.

Get in touch to find out more.

New Feature in WordPress Members Chat: Choose what Display Name users will see

The RumbleTalk WordPress Members chat plugin is constantly introducing new features. One of the latest additions is the display name feature. It enhances the option for members to log in with a specific name. Here is a quick overview of this new feature and how it can be used.

What is the display name feature?

The new display name feature is an easy way to control what name will show in the member’s group chat.

The name that will show in the members’ chat is taken from the WordPress database. The options are:

  • User Name (default) This is the login name of a user.
  • Nick Name
  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • First Name + Last Name
  • Last Name + First name

members chat display name

How does the new WordPress members’ chat display name work?

After installing the chat plugin, you will see a new black arrow next to the member’s field, simply choose the option you like or leave it to use the default name.

How does the member display name feature work?

As with all plugins, just having access to a lot of features isn’t enough. You need to know how to leverage them effectively to justify integrating them into your membership site. Here is a quick overview of the new feature.

When a user clicks on the member’s checkbox, the plugin is basically activating a code in the WordPress service that connects your WordPress user base with the chat, this can also be done manually if you do not want to use the RumbleTalk WordPress plugin.

From this point, any user that logged in to your WordPress site will be automatically logged into the RumbleTalk chat room. Now the new feature will control what name will show as the username.

The feature was introduced in order to present maximum flexibility in deciding what a username will look like.